Tag Archives: housing market

House Flipping Increases By 16% in 2013

The trend of flipping houses has become popular again, with the housing market seeing a 16% increase last year from 2012 and up 114% from 2011, according to  RealtyTrac’s fourth-quarter 2013 Home Flipping Report. The one-time common trend began dropping after home prices started to plunge a few years ago. Now, as home prices are […]

U.S. Counties Report Improved Housing Market

Local municipalities have seen improvement in the housing market based on a survey of 712 county governments. According to the Thomas Reuters and the National Association of Counties’ Annual Local Property Markets Survey, 72% of U.S. counties reported an increase in assessed property values. In addition, 64% of counties reported a rise in the volume […]

Foreclosures in Long Island Stay Above National Average

According to a recent article in Newsday, new foreclosure cases on Long Island are spiking, even as the mortgage crisis fades in the rest of the United States. The article states that although home values are on the rise — suggesting a housing rebound on the Island — lenders filed 12,271 initial foreclosure cases in […]

Changes from Federal Housing Administration Could Mean Revival of Reverse Mortgage Market

A recent article from Bankrate noted that the “housing market bust correlated strongly with a sharp decline in reverse mortgage origination.” However, with federally insured programs due to make some changes, the product could experience a resurgence. Data from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) indicated a significant volume increase during the height of the housing […]

Existing Home Sales Rise 6.5% in July

The National Association of REALTORS announced today that existing home sales during the month of July rose by 6.5% compared to June and also saw a 17.2% increase year over year. According to the NAR, existing home sales were up from a downwardly revised figure of 5.06 million in June to a seasonally adjusted annual […]

Shadow Inventory in July Falls by 30% Year over Year

Lender Processing Services recently previewed its latest Mortgage Monitor, revealing that, at the end of July, more than 4.5 million mortgages were still distressed (some more distressed than others). This indicates a massive reduction in pre-sale foreclosure inventory, also known as “shadow inventory.” The pre-sale inventory between June and July was down 2.82% to a […]

More Than Half of Home Purchases in 2012 and 2013 Were Cash-Based

Economists at the Goldman Sachs Group reported than more than 50% of all homes sold last year and throughout this year were bought mortgage-free and that all-cash sales have more than doubled since 2006. Before the housing bubble burst, only 20% of homebuyers made cash-only transactions. Goldman Sachs analysts determined the percentage of cash-only home […]

Younger Generation’s Attitude toward Homeownership Could Negatively Affect Housing Market

Today’s article from National Public Radio reported that the pent-up demand for homes will mean a greater resurgence in the housing market, but that might change as many young adults who have graduated from college within the past few years are saddled with hundreds of thousands of dollars of student loan debt. But what’s more […]

Pending Home Sales Dip in June as Mortgage Rates Rise

The National Association of REALTORS recently reported that the seasonally adjusted index for pending home sales was 110.9 in June, down 0.4% from a downwardly revised figure of 111.3 during the month of May — a six-year high. Since last year, home prices and mortgage rates have increased, suggesting that sales are beginning to slow […]

Shadow Inventory and Foreclosure Rates Drop

The recent National Foreclosure Report from CoreLogic announced that the foreclosure inventory — that is, the number of homes in foreclosure — fell by 2.9%, dropping from 1.4 million homes in some stage of foreclosure during the month of April to 1.0 million homes in May. This inventory represented 2.6% of all mortgaged homes in […]